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The adage 'History is recorded by the victors' serves as a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, even for the most influential figures in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly performer prancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends often do not capture the full truth, including the most influential characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of witnessing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through secondhand stories, painted our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by purpose and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually mean his later journey, the grand expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved narrative of events, the exact story the sovereign authorized to bury the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the island where his family resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the Divine Isle event through a flashback recounted by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {